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Tiny Sunbirds Far Away
- Author
- CHRISTIE WATSON
- Narrator
- Adjoa Andoh
- Publisher
- Quercus
- Publish Date
- 1 October 2012
- Run Time
- 12 hours 22 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
'Everything changed after Mama found Father lying on top of another woman.' Blessing and her brother Ezikiel adore their larger-than-life father, their glamorous mother and their comfortable life in Lagos. But all that changes when their father leaves them for another woman. Their mother is fired from her job at the Royal Imperial Hotel - only married women can work there - and soon they have to quit their air-conditioned apartment to go and live with their grandparents in a compound in the Niger Delta. Adapting to life with a poor countryside family is a shock beyond measure after their privileged upbringing in Lagos. Told in Blessing's own beguiling voice, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away shows how some families can survive almost anything. At times hilarious, always poignant, occasionally tragic, it is peopled with characters you will never forget.
(P)2012 Quercus Editions Ltd
Critics Review
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An immensely absorbing novel. It is both heart-wrenching and consoling
Chika Unigwe
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The gripping, triumphant tale of a girl who chooses life over loss, in a sweet but savage world where oil is bled from the earth
Lola Shoneyin, author of The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives
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Watson's descriptions of character and place are beautifully observed
Independent
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Heart-warming
Telegraph
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Absorbing and passionate
Guardian
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Jangles with bitter-sweet laughter
Daily Mail
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Readability and literary merit go hand in hand in this vibrant gem of a novel
Costa judges
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An excellent novel. It takes the reader deep into the reality of ordinary life in Nigeria and is also funny, moving and politically alert
Giles Foden, author of The Last King of Scotland
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A fascinating, poignant story that had me laughing in places and deeply moved in others
Ike Anya
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Skilfully treading the fine line between gritty hardship and homespun warmth ... Christie Watson's affecting but unsentimental debut earns its place in the sun
Independent
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Funny, tragic and moving in all the right places
Pride
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- CHRISTIE WATSON
- Narrator
- Adjoa Andoh
- Duration
- 12 hours 22 minutes
- Release Date
- 1 October 2012
- ISBN
- 9781780878201
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Quercus
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Family life fiction / Stories about family
Synopsis
WINNER OF THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD. 'Everything changed after Mama found Father lying on top of another woman.' Blessing and her brother Ezikiel adore their larger-than-life father, their glamorous mother and their comfortable life in Lagos. But all that changes when their father leaves them for another woman. Their mother is fired from her job at the Royal Imperial Hotel - only married women can work there - and soon they have to quit their air-conditioned apartment to go and live with their grandparents in a compound in the Niger Delta. Adapting to life with a poor countryside family is a shock beyond measure after their privileged upbringing in Lagos. Told in Blessing's own beguiling voice, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away shows how some families can survive almost anything. At times hilarious, always poignant, occasionally tragic, it is peopled with characters you will never forget.(P)2012 Quercus Editions Ltd
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